Six decades ago, in the aftermath of the Nazi horrors, Eleanor Roosevelt, Réné Cassin and other eminent figures gathered here, on the banks of Lake Geneva, to reaffirm the principle of human dignity. They created the Commission on Human Rights. Today, we ask: What has become of their noble dream?

In this session we see the answer. Faced with compelling reports from around the world of torture, persecution, and violence against women, what has the Council pronounced, and what has it decided?

Nothing. Its response has been silence. Its response has been indifference. Its response has been criminal.

One might say, in Harry Truman’s words, that this has become a Do-Nothing, Good-for-Nothing Council.

But that would be inaccurate. This Council has, after all, done something.

It has enacted one resolution after another condemning one single state: Israel. In eight pronouncements—and there will be three more this session—Hamas and Hezbollah have been granted impunity. The entire rest of the world—millions upon millions of victims, in 191 countries—continue to go ignored.

So yes, this Council is doing something. And the Middle East dictators who orchestrate this campaign will tell you it is a very good thing. That they seek to protect human rights, Palestinian rights.

So too, the racist murderers and rapists of Darfur women tell us they care about the rights of Palestinian women; the occupiers of Tibet care about the occupied; and the butchers of Muslims in Chechnya care about Muslims.

But do these self-proclaimed defenders truly care about Palestinian rights?

Let us consider the past few months. More than 130 Palestinians were killed by Palestinian forces. This is three times the combined total that were the pretext for calling special sessions in July and November. Yet the champions of Palestinian rights—Ahmadinejad, Assad, Khaddafi, John Dugard—they say nothing. Little 3-year-old boy Salam Balousha and his two brothers were murdered in their car by Prime Minister Haniyeh’s troops. Why has this Council chosen silence?

Because Israel could not be blamed. Because, in truth, the dictators who run this Council couldn’t care less about Palestinians, or about any human rights.

They seek to demonize Israeli democracy, to delegitimize the Jewish state, to scapegoat the Jewish people. They also seek something else: to distort and pervert the very language and idea of human rights.

You ask: What has become of the founders’ dream? With terrible lies, it is being turned into a nightmare.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Self-proclaimed defenders of Palestinian rights -- Assad, Ahamadinejad, Khaddafi and UN expert John Dugard -- care only about scapegoating Israel. Council President Luis de Alba of Mexico responds with unprecedented announcement that he rejects the speech as "inadmissible" -- and issues a ban on any speech that similarly criticizes the council or its member states. NGO community is shocked at denial of free speech and open debate.

And that is what the Council president, Luis Alfonso de Alba, said in reply to the speech given in the video:

"For the first time in this session I will not express thanks for that statement. I shall point out to the distinguished representative of the organization that just spoke, the distinguished representative of United Nations Watch, if you'd kindly listen to me. I am sorry that I'm not in a position to thank you for your statement. I should mention that I will not tolerate any similar statements in the Council. The way in which members of this Council were referred to, and indeed the way in which the council itself was referred to, all of this is inadmissible.

In the memory of the persons that you referred to, founders of the Human Rights Commission, and for the good of human rights, I would urge you in any future statements to observe some minimum proper conduct and language. Otherwise, any statement you make in similar tones to those used today will be taken out of the records. "

Wild Thing's comment........

The Palestinians' and terrorists' buddies at the UN didn't like this at all.

Comments

Bear Power Nation - Will never forget airlifting
bulldozers and our ALCE personnel to Rawanda after +800,000 Rawandans were slaughtered by rebels there. The UN did nothing. UNnecessary? A genocide occurred and terrorism won again? If you are scared, afraid, intimidated and fearful of terrorism - you lose! So... Bear-Up!!

Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at March 27, 2007 09:09 AM

Dennis Miller said that all you need to know about the UN is summed up by the fact that they have Cuba & Libya on their Human Rights Commission.

I had a similar summing up about communism when leaving Hungary back in the 1960's. The guards ran a mirror on wheels under the tourist bus to be sure no one tried to escape the workers' paradise.

The UN has proven itself over and over to be inept, dishonest, communistic and a fraud. It is little more than a platform for Third(Turd) world, third-rate nations to impress other third-rate nations.

Most of the time the UN seems to exist only to rant against America. Ronald Reagan refused to pay part of America's assigned share for a few years and US Ambassadors to the UN Jean Kirkpatrick and John Bolton raised the UN'S ire in their condemnation of the UN's practices. Other than that, no US official has had the courage to tell the UN to "F--- Off!" A President John Bolton might say that.

OINK, thanks for sharing about Hungary. I have a friend from there, they came and got his father when my friend was a little boy. They were sitting there at the dinner table having dinner and men showed up and took his Dad away. They never saw him again. That happened something like 50 years ago I think.